AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL’S BOARD OF DIRECTORS
At the international level, the members of the Board of Directors – known as the International Board – provide guidance and leadership for the Amnesty International movement worldwide. Every year, a Global Assembly is convened, where representatives of each section come together to discuss strategies and policies, vote on International Board members, and share ideas and knowledge to guide the international movement.
There are more than 80 Amnesty International offices worldwide. Canada has two branches – the English Branch in Ottawa and the Francophone Branch in Montreal.
AMNESTY CANADA’S BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Agapi Gessesse, Board Chair
Agapi Gessesse is a powerful, influential and fearless changemaker. For more than a decade, Agapi has worked to enhance the lives of marginalized youth through her work with Toronto Community Housing and United Way Greater Toronto. She is currently the Executive Director of the CEE Centre for Young Black Professionals.
Agapi was born and raised in Toronto by a refugee mother. Her commitment to community development stems from her lived experience, which propelled her to obtain a Master’s Degree in Social Justice. She is a visionary leader who tirelessly addresses economic issues affecting BlPOC, their families, and their futures. She speaks and writes on topics such as diversity and inclusion, workforce development and youth engagement.
In 2023, Agapi was honoured with the Leadership Award at the acclaimed BBPA Harry Jerome Awards for achievement in the Black community. She was also named a YWCA 2023 Woman of the Year and received an Afropolitan Canada Award at the 2023 Women of Diversity Summit.
Geneviève Thériault-Lachance, Vice-Chair
Geneviève Thériault-Lachance is a lawyer based in Quebec that specializes in corporate accountability. She is particularly interested in corporate ethics and the connection between corruption and human rights violations.
She worked for several years in London for an organization that sought to bring justice to victims of corporate abuses in sub-Saharan Africa. Prior to leaving for London, she practiced as a trial lawyer in Montreal. She appeared regularly before the highest provincial and federal courts. She also acted as a legal consultant for the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), where she drafted applications for victims and an amicus curiae brief to ensure the protection of the rule of law in impeachment procedures in Latin America.
Geneviève has a Master of Laws (LLM), with distinction, from London University College (UCL), where she was the sole recipient of the Sir Frederick Pollock scholarship. She regularly writes legal blogs for the legal publisher Éditions Yvon Blais of Thomson Reuters, is a founding trustee of Publish What You Pay (PWYP) UK and a member of the Committee of Integrity Protection For the Sport and Leisure Federation of Quebec.
Fariha Khan, Treasurer
Fariha has over a decade of management and technology consulting experience, during which time she strategized, designed, and developed actionable solutions to global and emerging challenges in the public, private, and social sectors. She has led innovation programs at different scales and complexity, monitored progress towards strategic plans, and provided governance to manage resources effectively.
Fariha graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce and a dual-degree Global Executive MBA (Cum Laude) from Rotman at the University of Toronto and SDA Bocconi School of Management. She holds a CPA.
Her advocacy for social justice is driven by her lived experiences in the East and West and social impact work in developing countries. She has championed the rights of others through both grassroots activism and international organizations. She is particularly interested in preventing human rights violations in conflict zones, examining public policy and legislation that curtail civil liberties, protecting the rights of refugees, and promoting intersectional justice. With a life-long approach to learning and applying novel ideas, Fariha is passionate about meaningful action at Amnesty International Canada.
Aidan Sander, Director
Aidan Sander has been a dedicated member of Amnesty International since he was fifteen. He is currently pursuing a medical degree as part of the Queen’s University Accelerated Route to Medical School in Kingston, Ontario. Aidan is also a Pearson United World College alumnus in Victoria, British Columbia.
Aidan’s involvement with Amnesty International began in 2017 when he participated in the Human Rights College for Youth. Aidan has served in several organizational roles, including as a National Human Rights Goals Committee member. In this capacity, he helped facilitate the membership feedback process to support the development of both the Global and AIC(ES) Strategic Goals. As Co-Chair of the National Youth Action & Advisory Committee, he helps advise the organization’s key leadership structures.
Hannah Ahamedi, Director
Hannah Ahamedi is a long-standing member of Amnesty International who has taken various leadership roles on the local, regional and national levels over the past seven years. She is a graduate student at the University of Cambridge, completing her MPhil in African Studies as a Gates Cambridge Scholar. She also holds a B.A (High Distinction) from the University of Toronto in Peace, Conflict and Justice Studies, Diaspora and Transnational Studies, and History.
Prior to being elected as a board member, Hannah was the Chair of the National Youth Action and Advisory Committee (NYAAC), the national youth body that advises Amnesty International Canada’s English-speaking staff, Board members at large and other leaders on youth participation in the human rights sphere. During her time as Chair, Hannah was able to advance and pass two successful resolutions that would call for a youth-designated board position and create a distinct youth membership class.
Sarah El Gharib, Director
Sarah is an influential journalist, advocate, and academic known for her commitment to anti-oppression and human rights. She currently serves as Director of Content at the environmental alliance Age of Union, where she leads editorial strategy. She previously held the title of Content and Communications Manager at Global Citizen Canada.
Sarah is fluent in French and English and competent in Arabic and Spanish. She holds a Bachelor’s in International Relations from the University of Geneva/University of Toronto.
At Amnesty International Switzerland, Sarah was pivotal in the Executive Committee and working groups focused on gender and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. She collaborated with the UN Human Rights Council, Human Rights Watch, the International Film and Festival for Human Rights, and Lallab, a French association committed to empowering Muslim women.
Sarah passionately champions a range of social justice issues, from anti-torture campaigns and the protection of human rights defenders to advocating against racism and promoting gender equality.
Michael Hayworth, Director
Michael is a practicing lawyer in the Toronto area. He has been involved with Amnesty since 2008, has worked on staff with Amnesty Australia, and led the section’s campaign team in 2017. He has a deep passion for human rights and Amnesty and is excited to help build our movement.
Dastageer Sakhizai, Director
Dastageer is a Senior Policy Analyst at the Government of Saskatchewan in Canada. He started his career in public policy in early 2006 after graduating from the School of Policy Studies at Queens University. Prior to transitioning to his new career in public policy, Dastageer worked as a mediator in Saskatoon Community Mediation Services for five years in conflict resolution.
In his previous career, Dastageer worked as a researcher in the academies of sciences of Afghanistan, Hungary, Uzbekistan, and Bulgaria, as well as at the University of Saskatchewan, where he was recruited for a research project and subsequently settled in Canada.
Dastageer’s work with Amnesty started with a local group in Saskatoon in 2000 that was expanded to some activities at a national level as well. Besides defending human rights, Dastageer’s work in promoting social justice in other areas included advocacy for electoral reform/proportional representation, workforce integration of professional immigrants, and raising awareness about Canadian citizenship (through community-based citizenship ceremonies). His work in the voluntary sector led to the founding of three advocacy organizations/networks where he served as the founding president/chairman.
Dastageer holds a Bachelor of Science in plant sciences, a Master of Science in genetics, and a Master of Public Administration.
Laurin Liu, Director
For years, she has also worked for international philanthropies and NGOs, where she has played a behind-the-scenes role in strategic communications, supporting activists defending basic rights around the world and campaigns for international justice and accountability.
Laurin Liu was a Canadian Member of Parliament between 2011-2015 and served as the youngest female Parliamentarian in Canadian history. While in office, she served as deputy critic for Environment, Science and Technology and International Trade and tabled multiple bills, including Bill C-409, for the automatic enrolment in the guaranteed income supplement for low-income seniors and Bill C-620, to expand health and safety protections for interns in federally regulated industries. She also pushed for a responsible and ethical foreign policy on various Parliamentary committees, including action on climate change, stopping the use of cluster munitions and arms exports to repressive governments, and ensuring the inclusion of human rights and environmental protections in trade deals.
She holds a master’s degree in human rights from the London School of Economics and speaks English and French. She was raised in Montreal, Quebec.
Aisha Ryan, Director
Aisha Ryan is an experienced human rights researcher and consultant currently based in Islamabad where she designs and implements development projects across Pakistan. She has worked on social impact and human rights projects in Canada, the UK, France, Italy, Guinea, Senegal, and Australia.
Aisha holds an MPhil in Development Studies from the University of Oxford (St Antony’s College) and an HBA in International Relations and Health Studies from the University of Toronto. Her MPhil dissertation investigated political extremism in Pakistan and associated violations of freedom of conscience and religious belief.
Aisha is particularly passionate about minority rights, corporate responsibility & accountability, Indigenous rights, and the right to health. She is fluent in English and French and speaks basic Urdu.
AMNESTY STAFF LEADERSHIP
Ketty Nivyabandi, Secretary General
Ketty serves as Secretary General for Amnesty International Canada’s English-Speaking section. She oversees the organization’s domestic and international human rights mandate and is its lead representative.
A global human rights activist and advocate, Ketty holds in-depth expertise and lived experience in forced displacement, at-risk human rights defenders, civic space in conflict and political transitions, and the global intersections of gender, race, and human rights. Before seeking asylum in Canada in 2015, she braved police violence as the lead organizer of women’s peaceful protests for democratic change in her country, Burundi.
In her previous roles, Ketty has led research, advocacy, and communications strategies with women peace activists in several conflict and post-conflict countries, including Syria, Yemen, South Sudan, Myanmar, Uganda, and Guatemala. Her work is rooted in people power, public accountability, and a feminist, decolonial approach to human rights.
Ketty studied international relations and is a former journalist and published poet. She lives in Ottawa with her two teenage daughters.
Kassandra Churcher, Executive Director
Kassandra has enjoyed a long and significant management career, including supervising the operations and management of all primary and secondary schools throughout the Inuit territory of Nunavik in the north of Quebec, as well as being the National Executive Director for the Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry Societies (CAEFS). She played a leadership role in developing opportunities for funding and support of the 24 community-based Elizabeth Fry Societies across Canada, which are responsible for delivering programs and services to at-risk and criminalized girls and women.
Kassandra is committed to fostering an ARAO intersectional feminist approach in her writing, advocacy, work, and life. She currently lives in Hudson, a small community outside of Montreal, where she volunteers as Vice President of the Elizabeth Fry Society.
Kassandra graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Ethics, holds a Master of Arts in Education from Concordia University in Montreal, and is completing a PhD in Culture and Values in Education from McGill.
Cian Mc Sweeney, Director of Finance & Operations
Cian Mc Sweeney joined Amnesty International’s Finance & Operations team in June 2022, where he serves as the Director. In this role, he works with the Finance, Facilities, and Information Technology and Systems teams responsible for oversight and governance of finances, office management, and digital and technology strategies. Before this, Cian held progressive finance roles in the for-profit industry in Canada and public accounting firms in Ireland.
Cian graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Business Information Systems from University College Cork (Ireland) and holds Certified Public Accountant (CPA) designations in Ireland and Canada. With a proven track record of managing complex operations and finances, driving organizational growth and impact, and growing and leading high-performing teams, Cian is committed to developing and implementing strategies that will enable Amnesty to achieve its goals.
David Matsinhe, Director of Policy, Advocacy and Research
David Matsinhe is the Director of Policy, Advocacy and Research (PAR) at Amnesty International Canada. Until 2023, he was the Lusophone Senior Researcher at the International Secretariat of Amnesty International in the East and Southern Africa Regional Office. Previously, he served as World Bank Senior Advisor in Public Finance at Mozambique’s Ministry of Education and Social Development and Assistant Professor in Global Development and Social Innovation at the University of Johannesburg.
David holds a PhD in Political Sociology from the University of Alberta, where he was a Canada Graduate Scholar of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. He is completing an MPhil in International Law at the University of Cape Town.
David is the author of Apartheid Vertigo: The Rise in Discrimination Against Africans in South Africa. He serves as an Adjunct Professor at Carleton University and a Research Fellow at the University of the Witwatersrand.
Marie-Helene Boubane, Director of Fundraising
Marie-Hélène was promoted to Director of Fundraising in July 2022. She has held many positions at Amnesty International, including Manager of Fundraising Programs, Major Gifts and Legacy Giving, Annual Giving, Legacy Giving, and Supporter Services.
Marie-Hélène has fundraised for international organizations such as Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) and CARE Canada in various positions, from Direct Marketing to Monthly Giving and Institutional Fundraising.
When not working with her wonderful colleagues at Amnesty, she is a fierce advocate for mental health, especially when it comes to neurodivergent populations.
Marie-Hélène graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from Concordia University. She joined the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) in 1999. She has held a Certified Fundraising Executive (CFRE) designation since 2015.
